Keep it clean, Justin.
This is the message a conservative organization in the U.S. has for this year’s Super Bowl halftime show performer Justin Timberlake.
“We ask you to keep the halftime show friendly and safe for the children watching, and who may be hoping to emulate you one day,” reads an open letter from the Parents Television Council (PTC).
“Our children are confronted with enough harmful and explicit content in today’s entertainment media – content that sexualizes our daughters; graphic violence that connotes acceptance as an answer to life’s conflicts; glamorization of underage drinking and drug use; normalization of children using harsh profanity; and a litany of other messaging that runs counter to the values most parents work to instill in their kids.
“The Super Bowl, and particularly its halftime show, should be the hallmark of entertainment that’s both appealing and a safe place for the entire family.”
The PTC has evidently not forgotten Timberlake’s 2004 Super Bowl performance with Janet Jackson that ended with the now-infamous “wardrobe malfunction.”
“The fallout of your performance during Super Bowl XXXVIII has left an indelible mark,” read the PTC letter. “You really threw us – and millions of parents who were watching with their kids.”
Timberlake has said he learned from the incident. “We’re not going to do that again,” he insisted.
The PTC thanked Timberlake “for considering our urgent appeal for a positive, uplifting and entertaining halftime show on Sunday.”